Office Politics

I’ve been spending time in an office environment as I learn more about being a journalist (and figuring out if this is what I want to do with the rest of my life – it’s not quite). I must say, I am not keen to be working in an office for the rest of my life.

I am never comfortable, the office climate is just awkward (both hot and cold, and not matching the outdoor weather, which makes dressing for the day complicated), and there is nothing to look at. We actually learn about it in HKE: we need visual relief, like a pot plant, or more windows so we can have contact to the outside environment. This place just feels so unnatural!

It’s also noisy. This is an open plan office, and my mom works in an open plan office. You can hear every person’s conversation all the time. And the cellphones with their weird ring tones, and people who aren’t at their desk when their phone rings endlessly, sure, maybe I could get used to it, but man that’s an irritation!

One of the reasons I chose to specialise in Writing and Editing rather than Television Journalism was because TV was forecast to involve a lot of group work. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind working in a team, so long as it’s a team and everyone pulls their weight, and group discussions can go down constructively and in a timely manner rather than unproductive banter. I don’t even have to like you to work with you. But as soon as petty politics comes into play, that’s when I take issue.

When you do group assignments there will always be that one person who does absolutely nothing, and they piggyback on the rest, never contributing. Whinging in those situations is irritating: they should just suffer some sort of repercussion and hopefully they learn from their mistakes, and improve next time. This is where office politics comes into play.

So this post may have become a rant of some sort, and I haven’t gone into the issue of office politics enough, but it’s going to take quite a while to convince me that this is the right kind of working environment for me. Some day soon I will share my dream office plan with you, and trust me, it will revolutionise offices for everyone. Or just me. Whatever, I don’t mind.

Why can't I have my cake and eat it too?

Do you have to choose one or the other? Why should we have to choose? If there is more than one option for something, and all the options are good, then why can't we just go for it?

The fact that there's consequences in life really bothers me. It's an inconvenience that can make life boring and complicated. But these consequences keep us safe, so I'll bear with it and endure the deliberation between choosing my cake, or eating what's given to me without complaining.

On a literal note: I want cake to be calorie-free. I wish I could just eat everything without the consequence of putting on weight, or having to do excessive amounts of exercise just so that I don't put on weight (which happens...). Food is delicious, and I look forward to next weekend when I get to eat ALL THE FOOD for four weeks straight... And no one can tell me off or warn me of any consequences. Follow my food blog for details of my escapades: thekendz.com

Has IM made us more spontaneous?

I have a friend who refuses to get a Blackberry, which, I suppose is somewhat understandable. He has an iPhone (far cooler, I guess, to the point where I will be joining i-Ness in the very near future). But, he also refuses to download an instant messenger app like WhatsApp because he doesn't believe that people need to be able to get hold of him 24/7, and if it really is an emergency, they can phone him, or send him a message on Facebook. As a loyal BBM-er, or IM-er at the very least, I struggle to wrap my head around this.

My loyal curve

The point of advancing technology is to make life faster, simpler, easier, and, I find in many cases, cheaper. Because I've grown to have full on chats with people, one message isn't enough, it will be a stream of conversation, otherwise I guess I would just send an Email. So when I want to talk to someone who is not connected like this, I have to spend money on many messages, when I already spend money on data, and the phone itself. I am not saying I resent having to spend money to talk to this person, but it really is an inconvenience.

Another thing I do: because IM is instant, I'll type out a message and press enter to send it. When I have to send a text (SMS), I press send, before considering if that's all that I wanted to say in the message. And if I forget to mention something, I have to send another message (which is fine over IM), but which costs money, again. There is just such a commitment to the sending of a message: are you sure you've said everything that you needed to? The length of the message is limiting as well.

I really enjoy the instant nature of the IM. Particularly with BBM, if I see someone's update, it nudges me to talk to them; it's a conversation starter. It's also easier to make plans with someone if you can do it via a conversation: plans can be adapted and moulded as you learn about what the other person is available to do, or even as inspiration hits, or when brainstorming for plans. You don't have to commit to an idea or solid invitation, but you can play things by ear a lot more.

I'm not saying this is impossible to do without IM. But I find that I am less likely to message someone randomly if they aren't quickly and easily available. I find it with my friends as well. It's easier to get things done faster in this evermore connected world, and I feel that we should take advantage of it where we can.

I can't find my pen...

You know it's exam time when...

Now, where did I leave my pen...?

I was just holding it before I picked up my laptop, I'm sure I just put it down on the book I was making notes in, how could it have gone so far away...

Oh... There it is... Please excuse me if you find chewing on the back of a pen offensive. This one does not have much life left anyway. I'm studying like a boss, but going through ink incredibly fast.

My current predicament

I love exam time, which I understand not everyone can understand, but each to his own, right? What me and my fellow student colleagues do all have in common is the impending decision time: what are we going to do with the rest of our lives, and are we ready for the big bad world?

I am majoring in three pretty different subjects, because I couldn't decide which path I wanted to follow, not much has changed, but now I actually kind of have to pick a path... Man I hate making big decisions! Faced with so many choices, I keep telling myself that I am lucky to have choices at all. I just have too many options. I also can't choose the one that will make me happiest, the one I really want to do, or the best one, because I know they will all make me happy, or work out really well in the end.

Option 1: Stay at Rhodes next year and do Human Kinetics and Ergonomics Honours (Then possibly option 2 after that, which we can combine into "Option 3")...

Yay, exercise! 

Option 2: Stay at Rhodes next year and do Health Journalism Honours (provided they actually offer it for 2014, which there is rumour that they won't do...)

I took this photo for a health journalism piece last year.
This is also the studio where I instruct indoor cycling,
which is something I am loving doing.

Option 4: Go back home <3 study Sports Science or Biokinetics at Tuks or at UJ (provided I get accepted...) (this is a bunch of options in one. I miss home so much, I am truly torn as to whether I should go back or not...

Some of my favourite people that I miss terribly in Jozi

An old photo but probably the early days of one of my
closest friendships. I miss this girl so much! 

Option 5: Move to England

One of the streets leading away from Buckingham
Palace. I'm pretty British, I look forward to a
bustling London lifestyle

Problem: I miss home, I have jobs and independence in Grahamstown, I don't know what I want to do with my life.

So I have to make some of these choices soon, so that I can start applying for them and applying for "funding", which will be a challenge as well, people haven't been too clear on the process, so amid my exam prep I have to look into it perhaps.

In the meantime, if I do apply for Honours (which I will do "just in case" I do decide it's what I want to do), I need to have the marks earning me a position, which will be these marks from these exams now...  You could say I'm a little stressed right now, or you could understand by the fact that I'm eating 3x my "daily calorie allowance", which is steadily pushing "looking good"for my 21st in 5 weeks out of the equation...

Birthdays and silly things I'd waste my money on

My birthday is coming up soon, yay me. On a related note, a really close friend of mine has her birthday coming up soon too, and it's a 21st. There is potential for a Harry Potter theme, and, my, does this have me all giddy. By the way, I love Harry Potter... But we won't go into too much detail on that, apart from the fact that I've been requested to dress up as Hermione (obviously!), so I've been doing some online shopping.

The first item that would be required is the straightforward outfit: Robes. This keeps the outfit very wizarding and such, and obviously I need Gryffindor robes, because that's Hermione's house (makes sense, right?). If I were to choose which house I would be in, I would probably have ended up in Ravenclaw. Make of that deduction what you will...

Universal studios Gryffindor robes

Those are the real deal right there, but they come with a real deal price tag, so for a more reasonable purchase, this may be considered: Amazon

The next obvious item for a witch (or wizard) would be their wand. So here is Hermione's wand...

Again from Amazon 

... The reviews seem pretty positive too, unlike many of the other items. The box is really cool as well, straight from Olivander's. BUT!!!

But... Then I found this...

Dumbledore's wand... The Elder Wand.
The Death Stick, the Wand of Destiny. Yes, you know the one

So I am faced with the slight dilemma because Hermione can't exactly be going around with Dumbledore's wand, even though it's so cool and who wouldn't want this wand? I do think I'll have to settle for 10¾" vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core. 

And finally, to finish off Hermione's character, even though she no longer has it...

Her Time Turner

I think I could make a great Hermione Granger.

I'm not the only one who is sad that I will never to get to spend hours with her and her friends ever again, but I suppose that's why we have themed birthday parties: living for the dream...

When you lose a friend

I'm the kind of person where, if you aren't willing to fight to have me in your life, then if you drift away from me, I won't fight for you - if I'm not worth your time, then why should I struggle to convince you that you need me around?

I've lost friends in my lifetime, who hasn't? Some have been inconsequential - they had a good run in my life, but we just drifted and had no roles to fulfil in each other's lives anymore, and both parties were okay with that. Once or twice, however, there have been important people whose departure from their position close to my heart has caused considerable pain. This, understandably, has happened in the case of boyfriends - if I'm dating you, you are pretty much guaranteed to be a bestie of mine, otherwise why are we even dating? So break ups have caused lost friendships.

Then there's the cases where you have both have changed, and no matter how hard you try, the friendship isn't the same: you don't have the same interests, you just don't get along and have fun in the same ways that you used to, and I've found that I've just had to move on with life and accept that things and people change, even if you don't want them to.

My latest dilemma: when something has happened that shouldn't be coming between you and the friend, but it does. Kind of like if you didn't know your friend was into some guy, and you end up dating him. It's not your fault that you didn't know she was interested in him, and it kind of leaves you in an awkward position - do you give up on the friendship to be with this new guy? Do you leave the guy and save the friendship because friends will always be there for you, but relationships are more than likely temporary. But what if the damage has already been done to the friendship?

This isn't really my situation at the moment, but the damage has probably been done. I don't want to let go of this friendship, it was important to me, even if it did have a weird dynamic. But then I have to question why I want to save it? If they don't want me around anymore, am I just doing myself and the relationship a disservice by forcing it?

My biggest challenge here, I suppose, is the arrogant assumption that this person needs me, and I want to be needed - if they don't need me, am I needed at all? I don't want to lose them, but maybe it won't make a difference. So, like with all things, time will tell, and time will heal if it doesn't all turn out okay.

(Note: the pictures used in this post are just illustrations of friends, not necessarily friendships that are no more)

A superficial treaty

Over the weekend there was a march, the International Parade. What does this mean? It means that people dress up in the colours of an assigned country, and march carrying that flag down through the streets of town.

Taking over the streets of Grahamstown

Local groups and schools added to the festivities, leading the march in dance

What it's supposed to be is promoting unity of our Rainbow Nation, and rising up against xenophobia. Because xenophobia has been a problem in South Africa in the past, awareness of it and activism against it is a great idea. The problem is that majority of the people participating don't know this, and just grab the opportunity to dress up with their friends and do something different with their weekend. There were some comments of people not even knowing what many of the flags were, understandably, so some educational value of the march was lost there as well.

Going all out for China

What I found ironic was the way in which different countries "mingled". Because the march represents countries standing together and putting aside their differences, these interactions demonstrate how we can all just get along (as countries). The issue, though, was that most of the countries were being represented by people who don't know anything about the country they are representing, so the meaning of this is lost, to a degree.

Mingling... Any suggestions on which countries these two are?
What about the nature of the relationship between the countries?

Zimbabwe of course had a substantial following, with most
of those representing it being from Zimmmmm

The event was a lot of fun, it certainly brought groups together (like residences and societies), and it was a little educational. Unfortunately it wasn't advertised enough, so there was apparently a smaller turnout than in previous years. With their advertising they also would have been able to get more of the messages across about why they are doing it. Within each country/representing group, they probably also could have worked on making sure that people knew at least a little something about the country.

Margaret Smith House (my res), represented Cameroon. We made "traditional" masks as props, because that seemed to be a common trend on Google, but I think we should at least have found out more about what the masks mean. It was all in good fun, though, and I'm glad we participated. Last year our participation was so enthusiastic that we earned a cake for the res. Let's hope we did so well again this year, that cake was delicious.

Margaret Smith House representing Cameroon

Preparations: Chrissi Preuss (RSA)
paints flags onto Jenny Guild (Zim)

Movie catchup roundup #2

My second round of ensuring that I am cultured in the way of movies that I should have seen in my lifetime: completed.

The Last Samurai

This was supposed to be another one of those tear-jerking movies, but it took me a long while to watch it (about 6 hours or so). What I particularly enjoyed about this movie was its commentary on industrialisation and colonisation: civilisations that ran effectively stood no chance against the machines that the arrogant West brought. It was also touching to see the development of a hardened character, such as Tom Cruise (who it was nice to see in a different role), into an empathetic and peaceful individual who now fights for what he believes is right, and he fought for the underdog - doesn't that just make him truly dreamy? I am exaggerating, but it was a nice development of a character. I wasn't expecting the (spoiler alert) months spent in the peaceful Japanese village, but the filmmakers did pull it off quite well, luckily. I'm glad that I can say that I've now seen it, but I don't think it will stand out in my mental movie bank in future.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I loved it. It was wonderful escapism and it had a really entertaining cast. It was beyond weird, yet it didn't seem to be trying too hard to be so. It was almost like a commercialised Dr Who, but without making the viewer feel like a niche nerd. It was funny and it was serious: how would you feel if your planet was demolished? Overall, I feel like I have added a little bit of culture to my life, but only a small amount: I need to read the book because the books are always better. (Maybe one day I'll even watch other versions of it...)

21 & Over

I had not heard good things about this movie, but I don't think it was all that bad. I would say that the quality of our teen comedy movies is declining - this movie was unoriginal, drawing from movies like Project X and The Hangover. I'll also admit that they really do say the main character's name far too much: "Jeff Chan!" It was mindless and stupid, and sometimes that's a good thing. It was pretty far-fetched, of course. I could relate to the "college life" situation portrayed, but not too much, thank goodness. While I've seen a fair amount of bush-diving injuries around campus, we tend to be a lot more conservative here in South Africa, so luckily this Jeff Chan situation is not that likely to happen.

The commentary on friend relationships and the way they deteriorate as we move away from teen years really did hit home: I find myself missing "the good ol' school days" when things were simple and you knew exactly what was going on with everyone's life (I went to a really small high school - less than 400 students). I don't miss being in high school, it wasn't "the best time of my life", but it certainly was a lot simpler back then, and maybe I just miss having so much free and lazy time... And not having to make life-changing decisions, which is where I am right now, and it is seriously stressing me out, eep!

Weekly digest #8

A week of "retirement" : As a Manchester United supporter, news of Sir Alex Ferguson announcing his retirement came as a bit of a surprise. I must admit that I'm not a very big sports follower though (at this time in my life) because I can't see the benefit of spending leisure time watching sport, not when there is work to be done, or more intellectually stimulating information that needs to be consumed in my life. But this is just for the moment: one day, perhaps, I'll be a sports reporter, or perhaps I'll be the friend that hosts weekend get togethers to watch "the game", though I am also excited for that because of the food potential that such occasions call for.

But back to Sir Alex: he's been around forever! News is always reporting a chop and a change of coaches and team members and managers, but he was that one constant. It's really not going to be the same without him. I'm going to join the ManU supporters in watching some stranger, when I finally get around to it.

Something else that is going to change dramatically (should it even continue without her), is 3rd Degree, a show on eNCA, whose anchor (slash main reason for being) Debora Patta has quit her position to move on to other freelance work. While people don't necessarily agree with her methods for investigative reporting, they can be pretty effective, and most certainly entertaining, drawing in a fair-sized audience. It's going to be interesting to see where this leaves the show - does it even still have a future? Will my fellow Journ Students, those specialising in TV Journalism, be there to take over from her? Time will tell...


Exciting crime in Grahamstown - shootouts and car chases : The rate at which dramatic, TV-type crime seems to be happening here in Grahamstown lately is ridiculous - the town is only so big! Again, I am confused as to the lack of interest in these stories. High speed car chases just down the road from where we do our groceries, with gunfire exchange? Why aren't people talking about it?!

Maybe one day when I'm part of the bigger world, people will be more interested in life around them than going out partying four times a week. People need to find some balance, but it's also fine that it doesn't happen straight away: we're allowed to be students for a bit. I'm just stressed about the fact that Real Life is just around the corner for me, and I don't know what I'm going to do about it. Any suggestions?

Movie catchup round #1

When I find out that someone has not seen movie greats like Star Wars and Titanic, I am struck down with mortification. Sure, it doesn't necessarily have to be your cup of tea, but how can you not have watched it? Do you want no culture in your life? Then I realise that I am probably pretty uncultured as well. I know and have seen some pretty spectacular movies in my lifetime, but there are those that crop up, and I am horribly embarrassed to say that I have not had the pleasure of enjoying them.

I have thus taken it upon myself to catch up on all these movies, and reflect on them and make recommendations as I go. Join me, if you feel the need: we could all use a little culture.

The mission was inspired by a conversation about which movies have made you cry. Hachi: A Dog's Tale is the first of mine that comes to mind, about a dog and his owner. If you haven't seen it, you should really do yourself the favour. And that's all I'm going to say about that.


Gladiator

A classic featuring Russell Crowe (and some other cool people), who we know can pretty much do no wrong when it comes to epic movies. He lived up to his usual standards, I would say, and the movie lived up to its reputation: it was most enjoyable. I was in the right kind of mood for an action movie, which was lucky - there is a fair amount of blood and gore about, the makings of any great "boy's" movie. There was more to appreciate than the strength of the men as they swung their heavy blades and dodged spears, at least. There was a tragic story of a man who loses his family, of past and forgotten loves, and of fighting for your country and what you believe in. The ending worked well as well: it was not unrealistic, and not hopeless - it didn't leave you feeling that empty sadness deep within your soul, rather an uplifting inspiration where you walk away with a heavy heart, eager to do something meaningful with your life.

Then I had a cup of coffee and a slab of chocolate and went to bed. Sorry, Inspiration, next time, I promise.


Armageddon

I love space and I love end-of-the-world movies. There seemed to be a period in movie-making history where this was quite popular. I think it happens each time there is a long-gone prediction for this, like 2012. That was almost disappointing. And then we realised that we get to carry on living our lives, and that's pretty cool.

This movie had a truly top-notch cast: Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler (every time I saw her face I could only think of Lord of the Rings...), Billy Bob Thornton and some other familiar names graced my screen. I kind of feel like this movie was made before a lot of them were cool, as well, so "hey, waddup, hipster movie?" There was a nice balance of comedy and seriousness in this film, a break in the tension without losing the threat of eminent death. Also, not bad graphics for a 1998 film: some of it reminded me of Star Wars (Episodes 1-3), which kind of made me giggle. I don't know how to explain why...

It was also a tragic film, and I was accused of being a hard-ass for not crying. Sometimes, though, I just get so involved in the story that I don't get caught up in the emotion of it. Which sort of doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's me, sometimes my brain is backwards and doesn't understand what it's supposed to do.


New Movie: Gangster Squad

I also watched a new movie, just to offset the complete old-school nature of my movie-viewing behaviour. Ok, fine, I also watched it because Ryan Gosling is dreamy. Until he opens his mouth that is... He's hot in a David Beckham way, where the voice just doesn't match the face. Gosling's suave, smooth-talking, cheeky eyes thing just works though. He and Emma Stone work really well together as well.

I really enjoyed the way it was filmed. On the whole the movie felt like a combination between Guy Ritchie (directed Sherlock Holmes) and Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge and the latest Great Gatsby), so it was a lot of sensory fun to watch. It was pretty cool as a gangster movie, but at the same time, it didn't really present anything new in the way of story or expectations. I did enjoy it though, and it is definitely worth giving a watch.

The Ogre

My name is Insecurity. I have to be the best because the best is the closest I'll ever get to perfection. Or I'll at least be closer than anyone else is. The problem is that I'm not even good enough to compete for this position. The other problem is that there won't only be one person who is the best. We are too complex as individuals, and then everyone else has a different idea of what that best is anyway! So I guess what I want is to be better than as many people as I can in as many people's opinions that I can. Any shortcomings are seen as a failure.

So how do I avoid failure? I don't try at all. If you don't try, you won't fail. You may say, "but then you'll never succeed either..." To which I respond, "I'd be disappointed in my performance anyway, because I could always have done it better."

You're not overly accepted by those around you, so I'm just here to protect you, to make sure no one has the opportunity to judge you. Who are they to judge you? We judge ourselves enough as it is. We are always right, they don't know us.

I am a sneaky conscience. I sit with you at all times. I'm the Super-Ego making you feel guilty for attempting certain failure, and guilty for not having succeeded at anything and everything. I will show you why you should be guilty by taking you online where you won't get a ny work (or life) done. I will show you who you could be: look at those skinny girls on Tumblr, those entrepreneurs on Mashable, those friends on Facebook who have actually progressed to somewhere. I will even let you get inspired and motivated to be like them! But then you'll realise the time, and you'll have to go to sleep, not having moved any closer to achieving your goals. That's something else to feel guilty about. Sweet dreams on that, my dear...

***

Another day and I continue my job. I've been here, growing stronger as you meet and hear about yet moe people who are better than you. Yes, I make your life difficult, and the goals you want to achieve seem ever-distant in their possibility. But each time you achieve one, each time you manage to ignore me or look past me, hasn't that been so much more satisfying and gratifying? Weren't those achievements even greater because you managed to overcome all the obstacles you faced, AS WELL as beating yourself?

Aren't we so much greater for being "Me" (you).

Commentary on Page One...

Inside the New York Times.

The death of print is near. So says the voices of media institutions world-over, particularly those that have already been put out of business. Page One: Inside the New York Times has a look into these deaths, and takes us behind the scenes of what appears to be a journalistically strong newspaper, one that has a socially-prevalent history, The New York Times.

It was an aesthetically pleasing documentary. It was engaging. This was lucky as I had to spend my leisure time on a public holiday watching it. No harm done: I love hearing about the impending doom of my field of work. But not really. But at the same time it is quite thrilling. 

We've been hearing about it for years: people aren't reading newspapers anymore. When you have access to the same information online immediately, and for FREE, why would you pay tomorrow for something you could have known about long before everyone else. This is why I love Twitter: instant access to breaking news. So we hear a lot about how no one wants to spend money when it's not necessary...

... but this does come at the cost of the quality of journalism. How can you expect a 100% accurate and fully comprehensive story within a few minutes of the event occurring? That is what we expect. In this "Now Generation", we want to know straight away what has happened, like tsunamis in Japan, and the Boston bombings. What I did like was a blow-by-blow account of what was happening on the ground, by one of the online newspapers, but that is still more like Twitter than longer-form journalism, which I would agree is dying out as well, as our attention spans become shorter, and more and more things are competing for that limited attention. 

So "wat do" now? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Perhaps by the time I join the ranks of those cut-throat journos, the likes of David Carr, these problems will have sorted themselves out. Speaking of whom, that man has quite the personality, and I would not like to be on the receiving end of one of his interrogations. 

This was definitely a documentary worth watching. Even if it does tell me that a potential career path of mine is going to peter out and die. That's okay, though, at least I have the Internets to keep me busy. I am an online writer now. I have no fear.

Something I couldn't afford

Is it even worth trying to pay attention?

She lost me when she went back to revise the last lecture. So why should I pay attention to something we've already done (ignoring the fact that I didn't get it then either anyway)?

We finally get to the new content and I swear I will pay attention. I'm sitting there, completely (trying to) focus(ed). She get's herself confused with content that I'm already struggling to keep up with, so I get confused again.

"And that's as simple as it is." Yeah, sure it is...

I get caught up trying to figure it out, and then I realise we've moved on to something new. and I have no idea what's going on. By the time I figure out what it is that's being explained, it's over. The only thing I understand about it is that which I am able to figure out using my English Etymology.

(By the way, how the people came up with these methods for statistical analysis is truly beyond me. I think I can confidently say that they sucked the methods right out of their thumb. Honestly, in what world is it OK to just through in a square root sign, just for gees (fun)?)

Possibly, the issue that I'm facing is that a lot of this is being made more complicated than it actually is. Also, keeping track of these abbreviations she keeps mentioning is difficult. It's been so long since I truly did statistics and learnt Maths, that figuring this out is pretty difficult.

Hashtag-BA-kid-for-life

Weekly digest #7

Injured child given a teddy bear is now "well" : A 5 year old girl was caught in the crossfire in an attempted robbery of Emperor's Palace Casino earlier this week. Marketing manager of the Casino said that they had given her a teddy bear and she is doing "well". He says she is also recovering "well". Apparently her parents are "well" as well. Thanks, PR, thanks for keeping us so well-informed. I'd just like to query why this 5 year old was at the casino anyway. I understand that there are other restaurants there and it could have been for a number of reasons that she was within shooting distance, but I am allowed to wonder (surely?).

Taxis ranked as the most dangerous form of public transport (SA) : A mobile survey conducted by Pondering Panda found that of the youths questioned, our South African taxi service was ranked as the most dangerous, with a high concern for accidents occurring or of being attacked. We hear of attacks often occurring at taxi ranks, and we often see the appalling state of the taxis driving around (spanners for steering wheels, bumpers duct-taped onto the car): these fears are understandable. The problem is that people sometimes really have no choice but to use these services. I look forward to the day when we have an efficient and (fairly) safe public transport system like that which I have enjoyed in London, or even Hong Kong (speaking less of their taxis, which are also deathtraps, but more of the buses, ferries and the MTR). This service also needs to be reasonably priced, unlike the Gautrain.

I have a food addiction : Hey look, another Internet self-diagnosis! Scientists have had a look into whether or not food addiction is a real thing. They make the important point that it's really hard to give up something that you actually have to have in order to survive. I know I obsess over it. It can get quite bad... Food is just so delicious (come visit me, I'll show you!) I really struggle to say when enough is enough. I take far too much advantage of an opportunity to eat, and I carry on eating when I'm "full". So that "full" signal isn't really a factor anymore. This is why I have to monitor what I eat. The easiest way for me to do this is by not having "more" available to have, or not having any snacks (or unhealthy snacks, at least) around me. It's best if I don't let it end up on my plate, or even in my room. Then, I get to live like a normal human being, fighting with myself only when I'm in the shops, or when faced with a decision to buy a huge delicious choc chip cookie (that you will most certainly hear more about in due course) when I am already treating myself to a Cappuccino at one of the great new coffee shops in town.

Procrastination reflections #1: People are mean

"People say ugly things, and sometimes it's because we speak without thinking: our thoughts become verbalised before they're even thought of. Ugly thoughts then become ugly words. We don't always mean these ugly thoughts, they can come unbidden to our minds, and normally we can keep them in check. Then it happens that we don't stop to think, and we say hurtful things to people that we would have just thought but because we want to get our two cents across as quickly as possible, we speak before making sure that what we're about to say is socially acceptable."

Welcome to my first attempt at being philosophical and self-reflexive. I am a major procrastinator, and I am very easily distracted. My mind goes off on tangents sometimes, often during important moments, like in lectures or in meetings or when I'm having a seriously deep conversation with a friend, which makes me feel kind of bad. I make up for this by writing down my strokes of brilliance so that at least some good comes out of it. Unfortunately, when I read these at a later stage, it turns out that it wasn't actually that amazing. I'm going to share these waves of creativity with you, and hopefully I can improve on the thoughts as I go.

So people are mean. Maybe I chose this as my first procrastination reflection to post because I'm discouraging you from being mean to me: don't judge me! I'm just joking, your opinion is valued because you have one, but it won't affect how I feel about myself. Unless you're building me up, and that's pretty cool, carry on as you were.

I think that the issue that I have with people's meanness is what determines what is mean? So someone may feel a certain way about something, but because it's not socially acceptable, they aren't allowed to express that they feel that way, because they may be shunned or looked down upon. I don't know why we think the way we do (don't even get me started on the subconscious..), but it's frustrating that we can't be pre-programmed into inherently good and kind people, without having to be mean. And I mean things like judging someone for being different, or making a comment on someone that you are jealous of because they are probably better than you.

Maybe I just hate how mean my brain can be sometimes, and then sometimes how mean my mouth can be before I have time to shut it up. That darned self-control... But, will keep working on it, I guess!

Weekly digest #6

Cosmetic surgery regulated as much as your toothbrush : It turns out that in the UK, it is not that important to regulate that which is injected into your face, regardless of the horror stories that we have all heard (and possibly seen the effects of) when such procedures go wrong (or if you just have a bad reaction to the product). While I'm pretty sure that things such as Botox and wrinkle-fillers should be administered with some training and qualification (would you really trust a random person to do this for you), the British don't think it is that important to have such regulations in place. It scares me the ease with which one can get this done, so I hope that you're at least sensible if you do follow this route to beauty.
Personally, I am currently not friendly with needles, so having injections in my face would be a serious stretch. I don't know how I am going to feel when this actually becomes a problem, however. I am so scared of ageing, it is actually quite sad. What makes it worse, is the fact that there is nothing anyone anywhere is ever going to be able to do about it. Except cosmetic surgery I suppose. I'm going to have to cross that bridge when I get there, and hopefully look after myself well enough until then, so that that bridge isn't too big for my osteoporotic legs to jump across.

More bus strikes... Are they important? : Service delivery strikes, wage strikes, all these strikes seem never-ending, and just when they seem to have been resolved, it is a new year, so they get to strike again for even more! I understand that people should be given what they deserve and what they have earned, but wow, can't we just organise a sound policy that this just happens without a hitch? Whenever these strikes happen, I think it is always the innocent who suffer the most: like those commuters who need to get to work. Or when the teachers strike, it is the children who miss out on vital school time. I understand that that is almost how a strike is supposed to work, in that it implements a serious blow to the service, to make a serious statement, but I also think that it's not fair to those who are directly affected by it, when they are not involved in the processes.

Grahamstown roads: further proof that this is not my hometown... : And I mean this headline in the nicest way possible of course. The roads here are absolutely shocking. And, true to South African problem solving skills, solutions are never permanent: they try the cheapest option (filling up the pothole with sand) and then within a few days it will rain, just because it can, of course, and the hole will be back. That hole will be back with a right vengeance I tell you. My poor car knows real suffering from driving on these roads, and I am pretty sure the campus roads are maintained better than the ones mentioned in the link in the headline of this story. This makes me sad, because at the end of the day, they could have saved money by just fixing the hole properly the first time, even if it is more expensive, and then they wouldn't have had to worry about it again for a while. But no, we must save money now, and damage cars and pose dangers to drivers (and pedestrians) while we're at it.

Easter with the family... Also known as "FOOD"

Wake up - eat.

Great start to the day. We were meant to go out for brunch, but this turned out to be way better

Find 'em - eat.

Can you spot the Ferrero Rocher? Well done, Mom

Rest break - eat.

Our Easter haul for the year. Needless to say, it didn't last very long.

Ah, man, Easter is a great time. Not to lose the meaning of the event at all, but Easter Sunday is a day for celebration, and I love how most people agree with me that food is the best way to celebrate things. 

Bro struggled for a while to get the Ferrero Rocher out of its hiding place.
Big sister to the rescue! Except I kept it. Hehe, bad sister I know. But
he did find more of them than I did anyway, so it was fine.

It was a bit of a quieter Easter for us this year, but it was really special to be spending time with family. This time last year I was in Hong Kong, so it was good to be home for a change.

Why yes, that is half a kilo (0.5kg) of Lindt bunny with its baby. And they tasted wonderful of course.
Omnomnom rabbit...

Weekly digest #5

Get famous, die young : Scientists in USA have found a link between being a celebrity and an earlier death. They studied some obituaries and have found nothing scientifically conclusive: they can't say that it is because individuals were famous that that was the cause of their early departure, but that it certainly does seem to be a trend. If being famous does kill you earlier, I certainly wouldn't want to be famous, would you? Is it really worth it? Saying this, however, although they died earlier, there is also the chance that they got to experience so much more of life than someone who sits in their academic study until they reach the age of 82, with a head full of knowledge and a life full of... libraries? Research? I think that we need to make sure that if we do dedicate a life to academics, that at least do something practical with it, rather than just know it or publish a commentary on it. Go out and experience it, even if it just means looking at the corner of Table Mountain and apply theories of Geometric Control Theory (if that's even possible...). (Also, in the time it took me to write this paragraph, I ate a whole slab (90g) of Cadbury Bournville. And it was wonderful).


Supernatural CSI in Port Elizabeth : So maybe this is an exaggeration, but they found a man dead in his hotel room in Port Elizabeth. His throat had been slit, allegedly a self-inflicted injury which he appeared to regret - he was found as though he was trying to get to the door to get help. Video footage shows no one entering or leaving the man's room, and his room was double latched from the inside. It sounds to me like the kind of stunt Voldemort would pull. If he did do this to himself, even that sounds like something that you would do under the Imperius curse. Either way, for the moment I feel this is the kind of case that Grisham and his Las Vegas team of CSI's should be investigating (Horatio would be suitable in a different situation, perhaps with more swamp involved...).


Sexual violence equals silence : Today served as the day of annual 1 in 9 Silent Protest, which aims to raise awareness of the fact that 1 in 9 women with be a victim of sexual violence at some stage in their life. I did not participate this year, but I did last year. The link for this story will take you to my post about this. Currently, all the participants are at the Cathedral Service. Sexual violence is a growing problem. Some people don't understand that there doesn't necessarily have to be "violence" in order for an event to be traumatic, and invasive, a violation of an individual's space and privacy. Coercion is a problem too, and people need to be educated that they need to say "no" if they are not comfortable with something.

My little dears

Last year I lost the cutest marshmallow in the world. Harry, my ten-year-old cat was attacked by the neighbour's dogs. I named him Harry because he was black, and Harry Potter has black hair...

 

In February our family was joined by two new dears. A boy and a girl domestic shorthair. Their mother was a ginger named Kylie. 

Pippin and Ginger are always up to no good

Ginger is my brother's cat. You can guess which one she is, I hope. She is the less friendly of the two, and she's also a rather timid kitten. 

Pippin is named after Peregrin Took from The Lord of the Rings. Mom wanted to name him Nougat, but to me that's a girl kitten's name. I considered Gandalf, but that was a bit too strong for him as a kitten...

That cat attitude is so clear on his face. I absolutely love his eyes! 

He has a little ginger nose

He is always alert and curious to everything around him

Yeah, he know's he's cute. Check out the ginger socks and tail!
I almost called him UCG (Undercover Ginger)

"Love me! Or I will keep you up all night purring in your ear, like I'm going to do anyway..."

Guess what? Books!

I got a sneaky little notification on my Facebook news feed the day before I returned to Johannesburg:

How lucky was I? R50 per kg of books?! What a steal! The warehouse was massive, and really busy, as you could imagine. Reading is not dead! There were piles upon piles of books, from every genre and field. It was actually rather overwhelming... You could either spend a whole day there, wading through them all, or you just hope that things jump out at you. Alternatively, you grab as much as you can and run!

I bought 6kg of books, a pile for my mother and my brother, and a comfortable pile for myself as well.

My books... And wine and caramel as well :-D 

By the way, I love to read. You may also have noticed that some of the books I bought might benefit you as well. :)

Weekly digest #4

More bird flu! Possible pandemic : A new strain of bird flu, the H7N9 virus, is spreading in China. It has killed 3 people so far. Luckily, it currently transmits only from bird to bird or bird to human, so human to human transmission is not a concern yet. However, the mutations that have already been observed indicate that this could change, thus leading to a pandemic of the disease, so the situation needs to be closely monitored. The World Health Organisation is apparently pleased with China's response to the situation, so I think we should handle possible outbreaks pretty well. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen though. I found it really interesting that this disease has been analysed using DNA sequencing: science, medicine and technology is amazing! Another fun fact that could be handy to remember to bring up in conversation in the future: the H and the N in the names of these flu viruses refer to proteins on their surfaces, namely hemagglutinin and neuraminidase.

Plagiarism issues at Fort Hare University : Postgraduate students at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape have been accused of plagiarism by copying and pasting in their Political Sciences assignments. The students claimed that they had been told that they were allowed to do this. Plagiarism is something that has been growing in importance in my life, not because I do it, but because everyone is so worried that I, along with my fellow students, will commit this serious offence some time in our University careers. They even started drumming this into us at a school level. We know: don't copy and paste or claim an idea as your own if it is not! And something I told a friend today: at University level, nothing is your own idea, and nothing is common knowledge - it all comes from somewhere and everything has to be referenced! Until late in post-grad at least, like when you have your phD. These people were dumb, and the outcome of this situation is actually ridiculous and should definitely be investigated further. Follow the link for the full (though somewhat difficult to follow) story.

Grahamstown Spur gets itself robbed (accidentally) : A man fell asleep in the local steak house chain Spur, and the restaurant closed for the night and locked up. When he woke up, he thought it would be a good idea to rob the till. He was apprehended when he was trying to leave the building. I was lucky enough to come across this story filed under both Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth (not even remotely true in location) - an occurrence in this little town that should have been bigger news amongst my peers. I also don't understand how Spur managed to lock someone up in their restaurant...

Kettle baths and loads of laundry

In my previous post, I reported on how there was no water in Grahamstown. Here are some details on living in these conditions. Not to be read by the weak-of-stomach...

The water supply was dodgy from Sunday lunchtime, something we became aware of as we were served our lunch on polystyrene plates with plastic knives and forks. This is becoming more and more of a problem, as it is now Wednesday, and we are still unable to flush our toilets, or have a shower.

Luckily, we have rainwater tanks behind our building. Unfortunately, it hasn't rained in a few weeks, so this supply is dwindling as well (unsurprisingly, as it has to cater to the water needs of 73 girls), and our neighbouring building of 88 boys has run out of their rainwater supply completely, so I hear.

I had my first kettle bath yesterday. I am fortunate to have a sink in my room: I don't know how I would feel about bathing from a sink in the bathroom where people come, do their business, and leave, unable to flush after themselves, and leaving a horrible smell behind them. You come into the building, and you are just hit by a wall of odours, emanating from bodies who, like me, have been unable to shower as often as they might have, and who, apparently, don't know how to fill up a bucket of water to flush the toilet after themselves. It is severely unpleasant.

This morning I decided the kettle bath wouldn't work for me, so I went down to the gym where there was rumoured to be water. Apparently I was not the only one to have heard such rumours: the change rooms, which are normally otherwise fairly empty at 6:30 am, was full, the floors wet, as ladies endured harsh conditions. My shower was brief: it was cold, with little water pressure (a huge disappointment, as the gym pressure is normally exceptionally good). One of the showers was blocked, verging on flooding. But I got to wash my hair, and my whole body. I now wait with anticipation for the water to come back, dreading the possibility of it not returning before my Spinning class that I have to instruct later today (the uniform for which I have to wash by hand, again).

My laundry is piling up: it was my intention to do laundry the other afternoon. I could have done it in the morning, but I was procrastinating. "It's fine, I'll do it this afternoon!" I had thought. I will never put off doing my laundry again: I am nearly down to my last set of underwear, and I am running out of laundry "shelf" space (the laundry basket was full a very long time ago).

Hold thumbs that pressure returns the water to us on the hill soon, and I am able to clean myself before I return home on Friday: we wouldn't want my mother thinking I am unable to look after myself at university.

Weekly digest #3

Fans disappointed that their mail isn't read by their heroes : Over-decorated and generic letters addressed to Taylor Swift were found in the recycling bin, to the dismay of those who sent it. Her management team were quick to claim that this disposal had been done accidentally, of course. How do fans expect every single one of their letters to be read, why would they think that theirs is so important and has something so new and interesting to say, that their celebrity sweetheart would take the time out of their busy and famous lives to give a damn for a moment? You could probably just send an envelope with the star's name on it, and they would get the idea. I do not understand the point of fan mail. If you really want to get a message to someone, make sure that it stands out, without having to resort to copious amounts of glitter glue and heart stickers. Be creative, be unusual, have something different to say. The same goes with life: if you think you're important enough that people should listen to you, put your message across in a way that conveys that! Also, well done to Taylor's management team for recycling, #savetheplanet.

Nepotism in schools: teacher fired for not adjusting principle's child's marks : A Northern Cape teacher was fired after she did not adjust one of her pupils marks so that he could pass. Said pupil was the principle's son. Pregnant mathematics and science teacher, Arlene Nel refused the request to up the grade 11 student's mark for a life sciences paper for which he received 28%. He had also only achieved 14% and 24% for maths and physical sciences respectively. The arbitration case for this situation will continue next month.
We thought we had it bad in our school, where there were relatives all throughout the staff. We had nothing on this. This is so unfair, because of the treatment and preference given to one student (who clearly doesn't deserve a chance - it's not as though he was having a little bit of trouble with one subject, he was failing others as well), and because the teacher now has a newborn child to care for, without a job to support it. Perhaps there are other underlying issues in the pupil's life that has caused him to perform badly, but if this is the case, then it needs to be dealt with openly (with discretion of course), and not through sneakily firing a staff member.

Grahamstown has no water and it really sucks:  I've attached two links for this story, but really it is my own. We have no water here in Grahamstown, and it is the second time in two weeks. Last week this inconvenience lasted about a day. Now, we have had no water for a few days. Certain areas seem to have started to get water back, now that the problem has been "fixed", but many people still have no access to water, which means no washing, no cooking water, no flushing water, in many cases.
A message from "Cllr Les Reynolds Da Caucus Leader" on the Rhodes University Community Forum Facebook group informed members of the group as to the cause of the outages, and explained that once the broken pipe that was the cause of the problems was fixed, water supply should resume.

[Note: this is a Monday post, but written on Wednesday, so the water issues timeline may be somewhat confusing. The events it describes were confusing anyway, so this shouldn't be a problem. Also, any water supply issues is an issue, regardless of how long that has been the case for]